More than 3 decades after the Dude Fire, ecosystem restoration continues
In 1990, the Dude Fire killed six firefighters and burned more than 24,000 acres near Payson.
Although the fire burned more than three decades ago, work on restoring the watershed continues.
Much of the regrowth consists of shrubby, flammable vegetation.
Salt River Project is working with private industry to remove some of that growth and allow ponderosa pine to reestablish itself.
The utility recently received more than $280,000 from data center developer EdgeCore.
The goal is to remove fuels, so that if wildfires do occur, they are less severe and have less impact on the watershed.
"So it will kind of give those pines a chance to regrow over time," said Elvy Barton of SRP. "So that way we reduce wildfire risk, to not only the communities there, the infrastructure that exists, but also just to protect, you know the watershed, the water supplies and the natural resources."
She says that reducing fuel loads could eventually allow the Forest Service to treat the area with prescribed burns.
